This is an update on our friends that donated the $1,000,000 to the City of Azusa, the Friends of the River.

I guess all the monitoring and cooperative action to minimize impact to the rivers has been "inadequate."

I hope some intervenors can get organized to represent recreation enthusiasts and fight this lawsuit.

Happy Trails!

================

http://latimes.com/news/local/la-000020588mar21.story

March 21, 2002

Groups Sue to Protect Small Southland Fish

By SEEMA MEHTA, TIMES STAFF WRITER

Four environmental groups sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on
Wednesday, arguing that the federal agency violated its promise to protect
waterways crucial to the Santa Ana sucker, a fish found in four Southern
California waterways.

The American Fisheries Society, California Trout Inc., the Center for
Biological Diversity and Friends of the River filed the suit in federal court
in San Francisco. It alleges that the federal wildlife agency violated a
court-approved settlement that required it to act by January 2001 to protect
waterways crucial to the survival of the threatened species.

The sucker, which uses its little mouth and large, thick lips to vacuum algae
and invertebrates from stream beds, used to be found in clear creeks and
bodies of water throughout the Southland. But development, the paving of
streams, competition from nonnative species, water pollution and other
factors have pushed it out of 75% of its historic range. The small,
threatened bottom-feeder is currently found in small stretches of the Santa
Ana, San Gabriel and Santa Clara rivers and Big Tujunga Creek. After a
six-year legal battle, the Fish and Wildlife Service designated the fish as
"threatened" in April 2000. At the time, Joan Jewett, spokeswoman for the
service's regional office in Portland, Ore., said, "The species is in trouble
and it's headed on a trend that could lead toward extinction."

In November 2000, to settle a separate lawsuit, the wildlife agency agreed to
designate critical habitat by January 2001, Hogan said.

Jewett disagreed with Hogan over Wednesday's lawsuit, saying her agency had
never agreed to a specific deadline. "Basically, we contend that we are not
in violation of the court order," she said. "The court order never bound us
to any specific date for designating critical habitat."

These guys are too much. Anyone actually ever see water in the Santa Ana "River".

The CBD needs to be sent to Afganistan to help find endangered species in the caves....

Crowdog

Originally posted by Crowdog

The CBD needs to be sent to Afganistan to help find endangered species in the caves....

Crowdog


:idea:

Maybe we could get a group rate for them, the SC, Rosie O'Donut, and all the other people the country would be better without....


:usa:

Ok, I am on it.

Staying out of the streams in affected areas is working.

If it had not worked the place would be closed.(Azusa Canyon)

1 The C.B.D. did not speak with the forest service before serving the lawsuit.

2 The Biologist has nearly completed the study in our area and the initial reports are good (the fishs numbers are up)

3 Our Biologist concurs with the actions Azusa Canyon Off-Roaders have taken to the forest service and we are sticking to our gameplan.

4 None of us has enough money to fight the Sierra Club head on and it would be a waste of time. (we just don't have the resourses, data, science)

5 The real problem is that the Forest service has to take money from their already stressed budget, to fight this additional lawsuit. Then how do they do their jobs and maintan the forest. They have to cut staffing. Then Places get torn up and closed or just closed due to lack of staffing.

6 Its time to be involved. Search out environmental meetings and sit in on them. The chance is good that their information is not complete and you will have a chance to speak and bring the OHV side to the table.

7 Take a course of ACTION. don't flounder around, stick to it. If your intention is Honest then the outcome will be positive

PS; This forum works! if yellowsub hadn't e-mailed me I would not have seen the article, I have already called the center for bio diversity to get some answers.
:usa:

Keep your own records of the biological study and opinion, the actions taken, and anything else that indicates the USFWS and USFS are implemeting action to comply with the court approved settlement.

This will save you a FOI request, later on, and may also head off record keeping problems if the information gets "lost" in the govt. example of efficiency that these agencies allow. The need to not only do the work, but file a record that the work has been completed and forwarded to the USFWS, is critical to judicial review that the settlement has been honored in good faith by the agencys. The litigants are claiming none of this action or record keeping is available (make sure it is).

If you keep your own copy of the records, then you can offer them as evidence as an intervener representing the interests impacted by the lawsuit. You do not have to depend upon an agency employee to remember that they have evidence of compliance (just in case the knowledgable agency employees get reassigned to Alaska, or the Attorney's fail to find the basis for a defense).

I was told earlier in the week that Cal4Wheel has money available to fight these legal battles. I would ask (you have nothing to lose, and we can all learn from the result).

Happy Trails!